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Welcome to the 6th issue of the GBAtemp Recommends Revival Project! This project is a weekly magazine feature where we share our favorite games and application with you. The things we recommend may be “old school” titles, a Homebrew, a ROM hack, sleeper hits, an application, etc, but one thing's for certain, we think they are fantastic and deserve your attention!

GBAtemp Recommends!

Contra J NES (Translation Patch)​

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The Contra video game series has graced many systems from the arcade to home computers systems, the NES, and even portable systems such as the DS. The original game has spawned many sequels and spin-offs, yet most gamers get nostalgic when discussing the NES port, released in 1988.

The game’s story follows two elite warriors (Bill "Mad Dog" Rizer and Lance "Scorpion" Bean) as they attack what appears to be a common terrorist organization. By the “waterfall” stage boss fight the plot quickly thickens as player begins to realize that an alien race is somehow involved.

The Konami Code, released in 1986 for Gradius, became infamous with N. American gamers thanks to its ability to grant 30 lives in Contra. Armed with the Contra code and a NES Advantage joystick, players quickly blasted through the game’s obstacles. Players were treated to multiple stages of platforming perfection aided by a variety of special weapons. Unique boss battles and stages which switched up the field of play made Contra for the NES an experience everyone talked about.

What most N. American gamers remember as one of their favorite games was actually an inferior version of Contra. The Japanese release made use of a custom-made Multi-Memory Controller, VRC2, which allowed for animated backgrounds. In addition the Japanese release featured story completing cut-scenes, which were eventually translated into English by talented NES hackers.

Contra might not have been the best platformer to grace the NES but it is often dubbed the most memorable. Gamers often comment on the excellent musical score, and remember the perfected difficulty curve that the game provided. From the first bullet to the last explosion, Contra adds-on to each stage by increasing the challenges in a way that made gamers feel like they were honing their skills. The further gamers went into the game the more they wanted to play, and most gamers will often explain how its one of the few games that got back-to-back play in a single session.

Fire up your copy of PocketNES, NesDS, or whatever emulator you enjoy, and give the Contra J English patch a play through. We promise you that you’ll enjoy this game and the translation patch, or we wouldn’t recommend it!

Very different. I grew up with my Japanese version (I own a Famicom + FDS andd they still work up to this day). You will notice the difference once you see the coconuts swaying on the Jap version and static on the US version.

Another Konami classic that was watered down on the NES was Salamander(LifeForce to NA). Salamander has better music and the Vic Viper had 3 Options/Multiples in the Famicom version.

A more appropriate genre would be Shoot 'em up or Run & Gun.
I was wondering why you recommended a translation patch instead of the original English version. Didn't know the japanese version was different, though it's not a big difference. Might give it a try.